The Gen Alpha battle cry is driving parents bananas. Believe it not, there's a benefit to the brain rot.

When my son’s football team ended with a score of 6-7 a few weeks ago, I knew we would be hearing it on repeat for days. As a mom of four, including three middle-school-aged kids (and a second grader who acts like one), I can’t go a day without hearing “Six sevennnnnn” in my house.

Welcome to the 6-7 slang trend, which has become especially popular among Gen Alpha kids who insist on saying "6-7" in a sing-song cadence at every opportunity. What's it all about, and where did it come from? In true investigative journalist fashion, I turned to the best insider source I could think of to get to the bottom of this bit of internet lore: a fifth-grade teacher.

Speaking to me on the condition of anonymity so her students don't troll her, the Pennsylvania educator assured me that, while parents may be annoyed by 6-7, they needn't be worried.

“It doesn’t actually mean anything,” she told me under the cover of darkness (on Facebook). “It comes from a song by Skrilla called ‘Doot Doot,’ but the song's meaning is not what [6-7] means.” (Skrilla may be referencing 67th Street in his hometown of Philadelphia, according to Know Your Meme, which also points to associations with basketball player LaMelo Ball's height, which is, ahem, 6'7".)

Listen: What a 6-7 fixation (and Skrilla) sounds like in the writer's house

As with many internet trends, the meaning and use has shifted rapidly., says my teacher source, who leans on "student translators" like TikToker Mr. Lindsay to keep up with the slang her students are using (and then repeat it herself, much to their horror). "It truly means nothing," she shared. "It’s just brain rot" — as in, the (mostly silly) memes, earworms and inside jokes today’s kids love to latch onto.

Slang also makes kids feel included, indicates they are part of a group and is unique to each generation. Today’s trends are largely fueled by social media, but these catchphrases trickle down even to younger children. My second grader giggled when she had to add 6 + 7 on her math homework, and she is not even sure why it’s funny. It reminds me of my now teenager quoting Anchorman as a toddler. He had never seen the movie, but he had heard me quote it often enough that lines like “I’m not even mad; that’s amazing” became part of his regular repertoire. (Pre-TikTok, we elder millennials just quoted movies on repeat.)

Popular parenting content creators have now picked up on the 6-7 trend, making videos highlighting just how cringe their kids sound. Chrissy Allen of CSA Punch riffed on how her kids can turn any mundane numerical answer into a 6-7 shoutout. "It’s bizarre!" Allen told me. "I still don’t even really understand what 6-7 means.”

FitDad's Dave Ogleton, meanwhile, poked fun at parents using slang long after it's cool. Honestly, these lighthearted takes just remind me that these cultural zeitgeist moments are usually more bonding than harmful.

Mary, a homeschooling mom of three in South Carolina, learned about the power of 6-7 the hard way: by taking a road trip with a group of teenage boys who continually peppered her with questions in which the answers were always 6 and 7.

“This hip old XenniaI quickly caught on and when it was my turn, I responded with the right answer and inflection, to their delight," she says. But she admits first furiously Googling to make sure she wasn't inadvertently making a dirty joke.

“It really is just about the most harmless thing they can annoy me with, so of course I still play along,” Mary says. “Plus, the math nerd in me is enjoying the popularity of this otherwise boring prime number.”

Experts say that, ultimately, there's a plus side to the 6-7 hysteria.

Katie Stewart, a licensed psychologist in Pittsburgh, says it's all just part of growing up. “Slang can actually be an important piece of bonding for kids because it increases their sense of connection to each other by having a special way to communicate that is uniquely theirs,” she tells me.

While her own child is too young for this trend, Stewart knows there will be something just as annoying coming her way when he hits adolescence. “While it can create a bit of an in-group and out-group effect with other generations, even using it to playfully tease older generations, who don’t get it but embrace the silliness of trying, can foster transgenerational connection.”

I have one friend putting this into practice. Every time her teen makes a 6-7 quip, she responds with something guaranteed to make them groan: “Why is six afraid of seven? Because seven ate nine!”